Pokémon: Phantoms Rising
by Cats of the New Dawn
Summary: Shock and Flame set out for their Pokemon journey with hopes of becoming powerful trainers, but their path is diverted when they become mixed up in a sinister plot to destroy the Pokemon world. Starting with Sinnoh, dark forces are attempting to end everything that trainers around the world have known since the historic invention of Pokemon battles. Can they save their homes?
1. Chapter 1

Pokémon: Phantoms Rising

By Eaglestorm, Moonstar, and Nightstripe

 ***Disclaimer* This story will involve Pokémon that don't belong in Sinnoh!**

 **(A/N) Alright, people, Eaglestorm here with a bit of explaining. This story will be similar to The New Dawn, with perspectives switching off every chapter, so it will go from me, to Moonstar, to Nightstripe on the writing front. I will be writing Shock, Moonstar will be writing Flame, and Nightstripe will be writing Frost. This is one of our first non-Warriors fanfiction, but we're pretty confident about this.**

 **(A/N) Um, this is Nightstripe and I'm just coming out and saying that I'm not a Pokémon nerd like Eaglestorm and Moonstar, so, um, they'll be writing a lot/ better parts than me. And yeah, I'm just not good at Pokémon stuff. They'll edit mistakes in game logic, however. Because I'm not good at that ._.**

 **(A/N) Hey everyone, it's Moonstar here. Wow, Nightstripe, a Pokémon nerd? Ok, I guess it's true. Although I only played X/Y and ΩRuby ɒSapphire. This story is set in the Sinnoh region, and Shock and Flame live in Eterna City, while Frost starts out in Celestic town. By the way, I never played Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, so all of these towns are from the map on Google Images =) However, we will try our best. Oh, and by the way, WHO'S EXCITED FOR Pokémon SUN AND MOON!? I think it should be obvious which one I'm gonna get. Sun (-Nightstripe). I'm going to name the legendary Moonpie after my cat =) Well, I've talked for long enough. ON TO THE STORY!**

Chapter 1

Shock

Shock flinched as he felt something pounding on his chest.

 _What- who's doing that?_ He threw off his covers and exploded out of his bed, landing with a loud thump on the wooden floor of his bedroom. Looking around, he noticed something squirming beneath the sheets that lay on the floor.

"Grr, lemme outta here!" a voice squeaked, the thing still struggling to break free from the blankets.

 _Shinx,_ Shock thought. He slowly walked over and picked up the sheets, his Pokémon still inside. He then pushed his way through his door and tossed the sheets over the rail. Moments later he heard thump and a satisfying "Hey!" Then trudged back into his bedroom and slammed the door behind him.

He leaped back into his bed, feeling frustrated when he realized he no longer had any blankets to use. _I can't believe that guy. He thinks he can just hit me every morning to wake me up? Especially on July seventeenth, which is the day I start my Pokémon journey-_

The thought fired through Shock's head like a shotgun. Today was the day he would begin his Pokémon journey! He rolled onto the floor and sat up, then dashed over to his dresser and grabbed the outfit he had picked for the journey.

 _This'll be perfect!_ He quickly put on his black hoodie with his own logo he had spent hours designing on his computer the night before, smiling when he remembered the extremespeed delivery service that had gotten it to him only hours after he made the purchase.

Then he put on his yellow scarf and his gray pants, and finally his trademark goggles that fit perfectly on his forehead, just below his spiky blond hair.

 _I am totally ready for this!_ He thought excitedly. He picked his bag off of his desk, and quickly checked that all of the contents were there.

 _Pokeballs, check! PokeTranslator, check! Bike, check! Clean underwear, check! Change of clothes, of course not!_ He slipped the bag onto his back and opened the door to see a very angry looking mom standing there.

"You are in very big trouble, young man," his mom boomed scarily.

Shock shrank back further into his room, not knowing what he had done wrong. "Uh, I'm very sorry and I will never do it again," he guessed.

His mom sighed heavily, and then did that think parents do where they shake their foreheads and close their eyes, like they have some sort of weird illness. "Have you checked the time yet?"

Shock swallowed a gasp of surprise, realizing that he hadn't yet looked, nor had he asked Shinx why he had been waking him up. "No, mom,"he replied. Slowly turning his head so that his clock was in the very edge of his vision, he read the time as "eight thirty-three," then looked back at his mother in confusion, wondering why she was mad when it really wasn't that early.

"You were supposed to start getting ready at seven o' clock! Flame has been waiting downstairs for an hour, and Shinx has nearly been jumping out of his skin with anticipation! It doesn't help that you just threw him down the stairs, either," his mom explained, exasperated.

 _Shoot, I totally forgot to set my alarm!_ Shock remembered. He let out a faint, awkward chuckle that resembled that of an old man, then pushed past his mom and half slid, half ran down the stairs.

Once again, Shock was met with not one angry face, but two.

In front of him was his friend and rival Flame, next to Shinx, who still had one leg wrapped up in Shock's sheets.

"You idiot!" Flame exclaimed. "Why in the name of Arceus did it take you so long to get down here?"

"Chill out, Flame," Shock said calmly, slightly worried that his Pokémon and friend were going to leap at him at any moment.

"No, seriously! The only reason I didn't run up there and have Fennekin shred you is because your mom was here!" Flame told him.

Shock snorted. "Like your Fennekin could shred me."

"Ahem," Shinx growled. "Are we forgetting that I just got coldly thrown down a one-story drop?"

"You look fine to me," Shock looked down at his Pokémon, who didn't have a scratch on him. "You make it sound like you ran into a pack of Quilladin."

"Maybe I did," Shinx said.

Shock saw Flame shudder. "Running into a pack of Quilladin is definitely not something you want to have on your bucket list."

"Oh, and you would know."

"Hey, I'm from Kalos, so I know this kind of stuff."

"I would know already if something like that happened to you."

"Maybe I don't tell you everything."

"You don't, I just know."

Shock's mom descended the stairs and promptly pushed the arguing boys apart. "If you two have forgotten, Professor Maple is waiting for you in the lab."

Shock stepped back, calming down. "Come to think of it, where is Fennekin, anyways?"

"I may or may not have sent Fennekin up to your room to attack you if you didn't wake up within the next ten minutes," Flame explained casually.

Ignoring what Flame had just said, Shock continued. "How much clothing do you have, anyways? I don't think I've ever seen you wearing this."

Flame had on a blue hoodie with pink highlights and a pokeball design in the middle, and some basic jeans, which Shock thought didn't really match his fiery red hair.

"Hey, you know things are different in Kalos," Flame told him.

Just then, Fennekin dropped down from the railing by the stairs and landed directly on top of Shinx, who was no longer fuming.

"Are you serious?" Shinx yowled, throwing Fennekin off.

Fennekin landed on her feet and burst out laughing. "You should've seen your face!"

"You couldn't see my face, dimwit, you were on top of me!" Shinx insulted her, leaping to his paws and creating sparks around his claws.

Shock sighed. Fennekin and Shinx were always at each other's throats, and no matter how hard he thought, he just couldn't figure out where they got it.

Shock's mom pointed from Shock to Shinx, and then from Flame to Fennekin. "Apple," she said, "tree."

Both Shock and Shinx whipped around at once. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Fennekin hopped up on Flame's shoulder. "How about we get going? I've been waiting here for such a long time."

"That's the best idea I've heard all day!" Shock agreed.

"Then let's just get moving, already," Flame sighed impatiently, already starting towards the door.

Shock looked at his mom, who seemed like she was all of a sudden having a mental breakdown. _That can't be good._

She rushed over to Shock and captured him in a tight hug, much to his dismay. "I can't believe after twelve whole years you're leaving me!"

Shock heard Flame laughing softly and resisted the urge to make Shinx hit him with Thunder Fang. "You know, mom, we've been planning this journey since I was five. Would it have been so hard to find a better time to break down like this?"

Shock's mom stepped back and wiped a tear from her eye and stepped back, looking like her usual, serious self. "I guess you two had better get moving, seeing as you're so late already."

"Well, bye mom!"

"Do you have clean underwear?" She asked Shock, clearly remembering it was the most important thing to remember on a long journey.

"Obviously! How stupid do you think I am?" Shock responded.

"Would you just get going, already?" Flame complained, pushing open Shock's front door.

"Yes, I'm getting tired of hearing you two bicker nearly every day, so this will be a good break for me," Shock's mom agreed, shooing the two boys out.

"Thanks, mom, I always knew you really cared about me," Shock muttered.

Flame snickered.

"Goodbye, boys!" Shock's mom let out a final goodbye, and then slammed the door hard behind them. Shock even thought he felt the ground shake.

"So," Flame said. "When do you think the party music will start?"

"I'm not sure," Shock replied. "But she has horrible taste, so we should get out of here before she gets the idea."

Shinx shivered as if recalling something. "Let's get moving, fast!"

Fennekin frowned. "How bad can it really be?"

Horrible sounds began blasting from inside.

Shock's eyes widened and he prepared for his ears to start bleeding, but it didn't happen as quickly as usual. "She hasn't turned up the volume yet, now's our chance!"

Covering their ears, the group dashed away from Shock's house, glad when they were finally out of reach of the torturous music.

 _I can't believe it's finally happening!_ Shock had been waiting nearly eight years to set off on his journey. As soon as he found Shinx, injured by a truck on the road, he knew that he wanted to spend his life catching and training Pokémon, as he was completely fascinated by them.

The tall buildings of Eterna City flashed by them, and before long, the lab came into view. It was a tall, dome shaped building, that was reasonably recently made. The two aspiring trainers skidded to a halt with their Pokémon.

Professor Maple, who had come from Celestic Town, told the two boys two years ago that she would give them Pokedexes if they promised to catch her as many Pokémon as they could find. When they asked why she picked them, she just said that kids around their age had a knack for this kind of thing.

"We're finally going to do some battling!" Shinx growled excitedly, scrambling up to sit on Shock's shoulder.

"It's not all about the battle, moron," Fennekin barked at him. "Catching Pokémon is just as important. But, I must admit, I'm ready to beat some gym leaders!"

"I know, right?" Flame agreed. "I heard that Oreburgh is where the first gym leader lives, so that's where we should head first."

The group skidded to a halt, and the Pokemon leaped onto their trainer's shoulders.

Shock put his hands on his knees, panting, then straightened up when he realized Shinx was slipping off. "We should probably head in, considering how late we are."

Everyone nodded.

When they walked up, the metal doors of the lab automatically opened for them, and Shock could barely contain his excitement. After so many years, so much waiting, and so much boredom, his Pokemon journey was finally beginning.

 **(A/N) Eaglestorm: I AM DONE, YAY! Uhh, review and stuff.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Flame

As the two friends walked into the lab, they started hearing the cries of Pokémon playing out in the backyard.

They had emerged into a large room with many artifacts and fossils hung on the walls. Many complicated looking machines were dotted around the floor, and a Chansey was wandering around tending to different objects by pressing buttons. Flame wondered if it knew what it was doing or not, but he figured they would have left before Professor Maple found out.

"I wonder where Professor Maple is?" Flame wondered aloud. "She said she would be waiting for us here."

"What if she thought we weren't coming since we're so late?" Shock suggested worriedly.

Flame looked around some more for the Professor, but he saw not even a single scientist, when there were normally people and Pokemon rushing about, doing experiments. "I'm not sure. Maybe she's out back with the Pokemon? She did say that some new Pokemon came in, so she could be tending to them."

"That could be true," Shinx agreed.

"Yes," Fennekin said.

Shock looked doubtful. "Normally new Pokemon would be kept in the side room, remember? And we would be able to see her through that window." Shock gestured to a window in the side of the building, where through it you could see a small, bright room with a grass floor.

"That's true as well," Flame murmured. A sinking feeling was growing in his stomach. Had Professor Maple forgotten? Were they too late?

"I'm sure she'll turn up soon," Fennekin reassured him, as if reading his mind.

"I hope you're right, I've been waiting way too long for this," Shinx responded.

"Over here," A female voice said from the shadows, as a tall woman in a lab coat and carrying two high-tech looking devices. Startled, Fennekin dropped off of Flame's shoulder with a shout to land beside Shinx, who had dropped a moment before. Both tiny Pokémon bared their claws, and flames flickered around the tiny fox Pokémon, as Shinx glared at the professor, the tips of his claws glowing with electricity.

"Geez Shinx, it's just Professor Maple," Shock laughed, patting the Pokemon's fluffy head. Shinx seemed to calm slightly when he recognized her.

Flame sighed with relief that the Professor was there.

"Don't worry about it," the Professor replied, "But may I ask, why you're almost two hours late?" There was a slight edge to her voice, as if she were holding back a wave of anger.

Flame didn't want to anger her further by lying. "This lazy Snorlax was asleep 'till eight-thirty!" he blurted before Shock had any time to say anything.

"Is that so?" Replied Professor Maple, gritting her teeth slightly. She whipped around. "Well, come with me,"

Shock let out a sigh of relief when the professor didn't attack him somehow.

The two boys followed her through a maze of metallic devices, and it seemed Shock could not help asking what each and every one of them was for. To Flame's surprise, the Professor kept her cool.

Soon they exited through a large door in the back of the lab. They emerged in a large, grassy, fenced-in area with Pokemon playing nearly everywhere. In one corner there was a small pool of water where many water types were frolicking, and there was a pit of sand for the ground types. Grass type Pokemon were hanging out and playing by a tall tree, as well.

Flame looked around. "Woah! Look at all of those Pokémon!"

"Yeah, it's awesome!" Shock added.

Flame noticed him reaching for a Pokeball from his belt, but slapped his hand away quickly. "What are you planning to do, catch one of these Pokemon?"

Shock looked confused and irritated. "Yeah, obviously.

Flame shook his head. _How stupid does this guy get?_ "These Pokemon live here with Professor Maple!"

The Professor looked at Flame approvingly. "This one knows what he's talking about." She switched her gaze to Shock, who looked back sheepishly. "This one, however, could use some work."

Flame laughed at Shock, who, as usual, protested indignantly.

"Can we go over there?" Fennekin asked, angling her tail towards a Litleo, Vulpix, and Flareon playing in the field, shooting jets of fire at each other, and pretending to be fighting an intense battle.

"Go ahead," Flame said absentmindedly as he stared around the field.

"I don't want to go there!" Shinx complained, "I want to go there!" He said angling his ears at a Pikachu, Mareep, Dedenne, and Emolga playing chase towards the center of the field.

"Fine," Shock sighed. "You better get back in time for us to leave, I need some cannon fodder."

Shinx stuck out his tongue at Shock and dashed towards the Pokemon.

"These devices are called a Pokedex," Professor Maple explained, "They are used for re-"

"Recording data of the Pokémon you capture and battle!" Flame blurted out, and then promptly slapped his hand over his mouth.

"Yes, that's right," the professor replied looking amused, as she handed the pair each a Pokedex, "But don't just focus on that. There are gym leaders, powerful trainers that you can take on and try to beat. If you beat all eight, then you can challenge the elite four, and the Pokémon league champion, the most powerful trainer in the region. In the end, you alone can choose what you want to do. However, remember why you are doing this! Don't forget about me, and please capture as many Pokémon as possible.

"Well I know!" Flame exclaimed, "I'm gonna be the champion!"

Fennekin scampered over at those words, and bared her tiny fangs.

"Not if I get there first!" Shock replied as Shinx leaped onto his shoulder, his claws flickering with electricity. "OW!" He exclaimed, throwing Shinx off into a Sandslash.

Shinx was immediately buried under a pile of angry ground types.

"Shouldn't we help him?" Flame asked.

"Nah, he'll find his way out eventually. This has been happening a lot, but I think he might level up after he does this enough." Replied Shock.

"That's fine by me," Fennekin added smugly.

"Hey!" Shock yelled. Shock promptly picked up Fennekin and chucked her into a water dish.

"Help! Help! I'm drowniiing…" Fennekin writhed in the three inch deep puddle.

"Dude, you have a serious problem with throwing Pokémon!" Flame noted, before punching Shock in the arm and running over to scoop Fennekin up.

Flame had met Fennekin washed up on a beach, after she sneaked onto a ship to Kalos from Hoenn, where she had just escaped Team Magma, who were trying to use her to beat up this kid named Brendan, but gotten knocked off by a Samurott practicing with its scalchop, while the ship was still sailing along the coast, a short distance away from land. The tough little Pokémon had swum to land, and washed up near Cyllage city where Flame was biking on the beach from Shalour city, where he lived. He saw the exhausted Pokémon on the beach, and took her back to Shalour, where she took a month to recover, but finally decided to stay with Flame. Fennekin had come when they decided to move to Eterna City in Sinnoh, as well.

"Well, you four should probably get going before Shinx gets killed." Professor Maple said.

"Yeah, good idea…" Shinx replied as he staggered away from the mass of ground types, still kicking at a Diglett that followed him persistently. He shuddered. "It was terrible in there!"

"Thanks Professor!" Flame exclaimed.

"It was no problem." Professor Maple said. "You'd better come back with some cool Pokemon, because making those Pokedexes cost me a fortune."

"Can we go now?" Fennekin whined, running around the group in a circle.

"Oh, fine." Shock replied, heaving Shinx back to his shoulder.

The foursome bounded out of the lab, and started walking.

They turned south towards Route 206, where they had decided they would go first, since that was the fastest route to Oreburgh City, where they would find the gym leader.

"Okay," Flame said. "Now we're really starting our journey!" He gave a jump of excitement at this.

"I know, right!" Shock exclaimed. He looked about ready to explode.

"There's the Route!" Shinx squeaked from beside Shock. He angled his tail to a sign that read "Welcome to Route 206. Come back soon to Eterna City!"

Fennekin squinted to read the sign from their distance. She had leaped back up onto Flame's shoulder, and her tiny claws were digging into his clothes.

Flame's heart was pounding at the thought of going into the wild. What Pokemon would they meet? What trainers would they battle? Without thinking, he broke into a run.

Shock looked at him in surprise as he sped forward. "Hey, where are you going? Wait up!" The blonde haired boy sprinted after him with his Pokemon at his side.

The group blew past the sign, and skidded to a halt when they had made it a few feet outside of the city.

"This is great!" All around them, wildlife was thriving. Huge trees grew many feet into the air, and among them Sentret played with each other. A Hoothoot was perched on a low branch, squabbling with a Natu that wanted the same worm as it had.

"Check that out!" Shock pointed at something that looked like a tree, but it moved, and Flame recognized a Trevenant, a Pokémon native to Kalos.

"Man, seeing those brings back so many memories…" Flame sighed. He recalled a time when one of his parents angered a Trevenant by bringing an axe to it, thinking it was a Christmas Tree up for grabs. Fennekin had distracted it by setting the bushes around it on fire, giving the family time to escape

"Everything brings back memories with you!" Shock retorted.

Flame snorted indignantly. "That doesn't!" He gestured to a strange, waddling Pokémon he had never seen before.

Shock laughed. "You've never seen a Shroomish?"

"Well, no. I haven't gotten to very many other cities, so I could save the experience for my journey."

"Sure."

"I've seen some of them before!" Fennekin chipped in. Then she shuddered, presumably remembering her captivity in Hoenn.

There was a long path ahead of them, and in the distance, Flame could see a bridge, and the figures of cyclists riding across it. "This is Sinnoh's cycling road, so we should probably be careful of cyclists running us and our Pokemon over."

"I wouldn't get hurt by some dude on a bike!" Shinx argued, butting him in the leg.

"Well, you did get hurt by "some dude" in a truck!" Fennekin retorted cheekily.

"That's different, trucks are, like, bigger, and stuff!" Shinx protested.

The two Pokemon leaped at each other in a mass of screeching fur, flames, and electricity.

Flame backed up slightly. "I swear, they're going to get hurt one of these days." He looked at Shock to see him sitting down, cheering Shinx on in the battle.

"Wha? Oh, I know, they're going to get knocked out before our first real battle!" He replied.

Shinx and Fennekin leaped back, panting from their fight. "One of these days, I will end you!" Shinx taunted.

"Not if I end you first!" Fennekin responded coolly.

"C'mon, let's get going already!" Flame sighed.

As the foursome continued on, Flame started really appreciating the beauty of Sinnoh. Back in Kalos, most of his travels had been to Cyllage city, with the route being mostly cave or mountain. It was amazing to truly see the beauty of the wildflowers, Pokémon playing in the grass, and the shadows of a flock of Starly soaring above.

"Hey! Watch it!" Fennekin shouted. Flame was snapped out of it, and looked over to see Fennekin facing off against some bug-looking Pokémon.

"What's that?" Flame asked.

Shock whipped out his Pokédex. "Kricketot. The cricket Pokémon. It shakes its head back to front, causing its antennae to hit each other and sound like a xylophone." A female voice sounded from the device.

"Fennekin, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Flame asked.

"Let's do this!" Fennekin replied dropping into a fighting stance, flames flickering out of her ears.

Shock sat down to enjoy the fireworks. "Does anyone have popcorn?"

 **(A/N) Well, I'm finally done! Oooh, a cliff hanger (kinda). You might have to wait two chapters to find out what happens, because we're introducing Frost. :) Um, random question, what is the plural form of Starly? Is it Starlys? Starlies? Or something else? Leave a review, because I've been wondering about that. Sooo, I guess that's all for now. Signing off! -Moonstar**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Shock

Shock sat down comfortably, greatly offended that Route 206 did not offer refreshments for poor boys that just wanted to watch small animals beat each other up.

"Where's the popcorn, anyways?" He asked indignantly.

Flame, who was facing off with some weird bug thing, apparently called a Kricketot, with Fennekin at his side. The small fox looked surprisingly angry for something looking at a bug, but Shock had seen worse.

"Won't you shut up? This is going to be our first battle!" Flame growled.

" _Your_ first battle," Shinx said. The Pokemon looked beyond annoyed at being stuck on the sidelines while Flame and Fennekin fought a terrifying bug.

Shock just pushed him over slightly.

"Alright, Fennekin, use Ember!" Flame commanded. Fennekin responded by blasting a bright flame from her mouth. It flew towards Kricketot, but with a strange clicking noise, the Pokemon leaped out of the way.

"Nice shot," Shock laughed.

Flame and Fennekin turned towards him and gave Shock a glare so angry that he didn't think he would ever forget, and then resumed staring down the terrifying bug type. "Now use Scratch!"

Fennekin dashed towards Kricketot, and with a flurry of blows, knocked it back a few feet. Flame and Fennekin looked very pleased with themselves, and a new confidence was shining in their eyes.

Shinx leaped to his feet. "That was great," he exclaimed. Fennekin shot him a glance, then turned back to her opponent.

The Kricketot climbed to it's feet, and rushed in, knocking Fennekin away with a powerful Tackle.

"Fennekin!" Flame yowled. He crouched next to his Pokemon, who stood up quickly.

"I'm fine! No stupid bug can hurt me!" she growled.

Shock snorted, surprised by her endurance. He could tell she was still hurt, though.

"Then follow it up with another Ember!" Flame shouted.

Fennekin responded by launching another ball of flame at the Kricketot. The bug struggled to get away in time, but was caught in the fireball. When the flames melted away, it was charred on the ground. The Kricketot leaped up and dashed away into the tall grass.

"Yes!" Flame celebrated by throwing his fist into the air.

Shock clapped sarcastically. "Congratulations, you beat Bugzilla."

Shinx laughed.

Flame turned on Shock and Shinx. "Would you stop? You've been such a pain this whole time!"

Shock stood up, shrugging. "It's what I do."

"Whatever," Flame sighed. He looked down at Fennekin, who was panting, but had a triumphant glint in her eye. Suddenly, bright sparks appeared around her, then were gone.

Flame gasped, and picked her up. "What happened?"

Shock recalled something he read a few days before, when he was doing research on Pokemon to prepare for his journey. "I think she just leveled up."

Fennekin lifted her head. "I do feel stronger."

Flame seemed to remember what that meant. "Great! So that makes you, what, level six?"

Flame and Fennekin started chattering excitedly.

Shock looked at Shinx, who was scowling. "What is it now?"

"Fennekin is stronger than me now!" the blue and black Pokemon replied.

This realization hit Shock hard. If he and Flame were going to be rivals, he couldn't let him get ahead! "Come on, Shinx, we've got some Pokemon to fight!" He scooped up his now surprised Shinx, and dashed off into the tall grass, ignoring Flame's calls to come back.

"Are you so sure this is a good idea?" Shinx asked after they had made it reasonably far.

"Of course. You want to get stronger, right?" Shock encouraged.

"I guess," Shinx rolled his eyes.

Shock began to hear running water, and they came across a stream. He could see Magikarp and other Pokemon swimming around in it, while other Pokemon fished from the shore.

"This looks like a nice place for training." Shock dropped Shinx on the soft ground and pointed at a Floatzel that was trying to hook a Goldeen from the water. "Now go after that!"

Shinx hesitated.

"It's a water type, and you're an electric type. What could happen?" Shock reassured.

Shinx heard this, and continued forward.

"Now, use Spark!" Shock commanded.

Shinx looked back at Shock with a determined look on his face, then charged his claws with powerful electricity. "Here goes," he said. Shinx launched himself at the Floatzel, which whipped around in surprise and blocked the attack with both arms. The Floatzel and Shinx both slid back from the impact, and the Floatzel's paws were charred.

 _Good!_ Shock thought, _It's been affected, which means it's not too high level._ "Now follow it up with a Bite attack!" Shock swung his arm threw the air.

"Right!" Shinx replied. He darted forward and bit into the Floatzel's ankle. The sea weasel struggled to throw Shinx off, but the little Pokemon wouldn't let go. Giving up, the Floatzel charged a ball of water in it's paws and slammed it into Shinx, sending him flying.

 _Water Pulse!_ Shock recalled. Shinx landed near Shock and struggled to his feet.

"I can still fight!" Shinx squeaked.

Shock smiled at the his Pokemon. "Then let's beat this thing!"

The Floatzel charged again, this time slamming into Shinx head-on. Shock watched in horror as he went sailing into one of the thick trunks of an oak tree, and fell limp on the ground. The Floatzel turned and slowly walked away, seeming to think it had won.

"Shinx!" He ran over to the Pokemon and threw his bag off his shoulder. He rummaged through it and found a potion, which he quickly sprayed on Shinx. _I won't lose my first battle! Shinx, please be okay!_

Shinx slowly blinked open his eyes, which were blazing with determination. "We won't lose!" His strength renewed by the potion, he leaped up.

Shock stood up and turned towards the Floatzel, now sitting by the river looking for more fish. "Shinx, use another Spark!"

Seemingly faster than before, Shinx charged at the sea weasel with Electricity flowing all around him. Shinx slammed into Floatzel so hard that the weasel was launched all the way across the stream, landing directly in the middle of some Girafarig that were grazing on the bushes.

Shock ran to Shinx and scooped him up. The small Pokemon collapsed in his arms. _We did it, buddy!_

Shock noticed sparks coming from Shinx. _You've leveled up! We won't let Flame stay ahead!_

"Shock!" yelled a furious voice. "What in all of heck is your problem?" Flame came sprinting out of the undergrowth with Fennekin on his shoulder. "What happened to Shinx?

"One question at a time, dude," Shock told him. "One, we will never know what is wrong with me, and two, we beat up a Floatzel."

Flame placed his hand on his forehead. "You're so stupid. You just ran off and tried to beat a Pokemon that was stronger than you? How did you end up winning, anyways?" Flame looked like a mix of chili pepper and a human.

Shock looked at Fennekin, who was looking at Shinx triumphantly as if it was her who had knocked him out. "We beat him by being better than you. The exact same as always."

"Whatever, we need to get back on Route 206 so we can get to Oreburgh," Flame said. With that, he stalked back towards the route, followed by Shock.

Soon they emerged onto Route 206. The sun hit Shock's face, and he realized it must already be afternoon. His stomach grumbled loudly. Him and Flame had planned to make it to Oreburgh and have a late lunch, but Shock's little battle would make that a late dinner.

"Where can we get some food around here?" Shinx complained, obviously having the same problem as Shock. On the way back, Shinx had woken up and regained the same attitude as before.

Fennekin snorted. "Why don't you go off and look for a hotdog stand?"

Flame patted Fennekin on the head. "He's got a point, though. It's around lunch time." Flame took off his backpack and pulled out an energy bar and a stick. "Here you go!" He said cheerily, handing the stick to Fennekin. The fox Pokémon started chewing it, and within a minute, it was reduced down to a stub.

As Flame and Fennekin chowed down on their snack, Shock watched with his mouth gaping open, remembering that he hadn't eaten breakfast.

"Okay, let's move!" Flame commanded, dashing down the route. Shock closed his mouth and ran after him at full speed.

"I'm kind of worried about fighting the Oreburgh gym leader," Shock told Flame as they ran.

"Why's that? Are you scared, or something?" Flame laughed.

Shock shoved him slightly. "No! Unlike you, I actually did my research. The gym leader's name is Roark, and he specializes in rock-types. Neither of us have anything that can combat rock-type Pokemon."

Flame smirked. "That's easily remedied." The two skidded to a halt. Shock could see the cycling bridge much more clearly now, and it wouldn't be long until they reached it.

"What did you mean by 'easily remedied,'" Shock asked him.

"It's obvious. I'll just catch a grass-type," Shock said simply. At this Fennekin perked up.

"We're gonna catch Pokemon? I want that one!" She gestured to a passing Hoppip.

Shinx leaped to the ground, now with much more energy. "That's not exactly an impressive teammate to have."

"Oh yeah? You find something better, then!" Fennekin told Shinx, seeming triumphant.

Shinx smiled as he pointed to a Shroomish that was waddling between the trees. Shock grinned. Shinx seemed to have listened to everything Shock had told him while they were researching Pokemon..

"What's that brown lump going to do?" Flame chuckled.

Shock decided to chime in. "Shroomish actually evolves into a Breloom at level twenty-three. Breloom is a Pokemon with stretchy arms it can use to throw really powerful punches. I wouldn't hate having one on my team."

Flame's neck snapped towards the Shroomish. "Fennekin, Scratch!"

Fennekin leaped at the unsuspecting Pokemon and flipped it over, leaving it's legs waving in the air.

"Alright, here we go," Flame said. He reached into his pack and pulled out a Pokeball. He winded his arm up, and threw it at the Shroomish.

Shock watched the red and white ball sail through the air, glinting in the sun, and hit the Shroomish square in the butt.

"Yes, bullseye!" Flame celebrated as the Shroomish turned red and was sucked into the Pokeball. It wobbled three times, the trainers tensing more each time, and then stopped as stars shot out of it. "I got it!"

Shock frowned as Flame picked up the Pokeball and sent out his Shroomish. Although he was glad his friend caught a Pokemon, he wished it had been him first. "Nice job!" he congratulated Flame.

"Yeah, now there's a sane person here!" Shinx cheered.

"Well, we can't be so sure," Flame noted. He pulled out his Pokedex and aimed it at Shroomish.

"It spouts poison spores which cause pain from the top of it's head in order to protect itself," the Pokedex explained.

Flame clicked a few buttons. "Let's see your moves."

The Pokedex continued. "Level 3. It's ability is Poison Heal. This Pokemon knows Absorb Tackle, and Stun Spore."

"Nice!" Flame cheered. "It's only level three, though."

"It won't take long to level up, though. A Pokemon with stubby legs and no arms can never be defeated," Shock teased.

"I'll just fight Wurmples, then," Flame argued.

"Good strategy for exp," Shock teased.

Flame walked over to Shock and shoved him lightly. "Let's just go."

The group continued along Route 206, crossing the biking bridge until they came to a sign.

 _This is it!_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Flame

 **(A/N) Moonpie here with a Flame chapter! I apologize for the lack of posts, as we were busy/lazy, and it was summer. Well, Nighstripe has been removed from the story, as he didn't seem to want to do it. On that sad/happy note, on to the story!**

"Yes! Oreburgh City!" Fennekin shouted, seeing the sign up ahead. The small fox Pokémon ran ahead of the group, apparently extremely psyched after beating a bug, and catching a new partner.

Flame kept seeing Shock glance at his backpack, and then away again, possibly jealous of his Shroomish. Flame hoped that Shock had been right about Shroomish's evolution, because in his current state he wasn't very threatening.

Flame had decided not to take Shroomish out of his Pokeball until they made to the city. Unless he had to, of course.

"Finally!" Shinx added, bounding ahead after her. Flame and Shock exchanged exasperated looks, and then ran after them.

The sign lead to a cave, and you could see the shadows of Zubat swooping inside. Flame shivered, recalling many unhappy events he had witnessed that all involved Zubat.

"Aww, great, I bet we're gonna get swarmed," Shock sighed exasperatedly.

 _How can Fennekin and I fight off a swarm of Zubat?_ Flame thought.

As if reading his mind, Shock said; "If we encounter a swarm, we'll work together!"

"Yeah!" Shinx added, "A swarm won't stand a chance against my Spark!"

"Okay, but be careful. You still aren't at full HP from the battle on Route 206!" Shock chided the enthusiastic Pokémon.

"I know, but I-"

"Can we get going already?" Fennekin complained, interrupting Shinx.

"Yeah, c'mon!" Flame added. He was excited to reach the Oreburgh Gym, especially now that he had caught a Shroomish. Looking at Shock, he wondered if he had been planning on catching a Pokemon himself. Getting a Zubat wouldn't be the best plan, seeing as Rock types aren't very affected by Flying types.

They stepped into the cave and it was eerily dark, with water dripping down from stalactites on the ceiling, and the floor littered with objects. Flame shivered from the sudden cold of the damp, stone walled tunnel.

"Hey, Fennekin, I'm going to go grab a stick from outside. Use ember on it to get some light!" Flame ordered as he walked outside, retrieved a small stick, and returned. The small fox Pokémon shot a bolt of flame, and the stick was set alight. Flame held it up high, and the light illuminated their surroundings. He worried that Fennekin might try to eat the stick on the way, leaving Flame with a blazing stub.

"Shinx, do a thing," Shock told the Pokemon.

Shinx looked at his trainer confusedly, a look not uncommonly share by the pair. "What do you-"

"The thing!"

"Oohhh, that thing!" Shinx said, lighting up his claws with electricity, creating more light.

"Did you guys rehearse that or something?" Flame asked them, thinking it sounded exactly like something they would do.

"Definitely not," Shock answered.

The light revealed something shiny next to Shinx's paws.

"Hey, what's this?" Shock asked as he stooped over to pick up the shiny thing from the floor.

Flame squinted at it. It looked like a badge, black, with silver designs in it, with a dark blue _SF_ emblazoned in the center.

"There's something else!" Shinx squeaked. He padded over with a piece of paper in his mouth. Flame took it and unrolled it. It read; _Hurry to Celestic town. Possible lead on Diamond/Pearl there! Bring strongest Pokémon. ~ Midnight_

"What the heck could that mean?" Flame wondered aloud. He had heard of diamonds and pearls before, but he couldn't imagine why someone would write such an urgent note about them. Sure, they're expensive, but "bring strongest Pokemon" sounded a little interesting.

Shock seemed to be already analyzing the note. "Diamond/Pearl… Diamond/Pearl… Diamond/Pe- I got it!" Shock exclaimed.

"Well, are you going to tell us?" Flame asked impatiently.

"Diamond. People call the legendary Dialga Diamond. And Palkia is called Pearl!" He replied.

Flame gasped when he heard those names. His parents had told him stories of the two Pokemon, but they were, in fact, legends, so he hadn't believed them. One story in particular spoke of a boy saving the world from an evil organization that tried to take advantage of the Pokemon's powers. "Dialga and Palkia are real?"

"Of course," Shinx squeaked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We read about them a few days back.

"We have to go there now!" Fennekin ordered.

"But what about the gym?" Shinx complained.

"But we could see Palkia or Dialga there!" Fennekin argued, heated air coming out of her ears.

"But I wanna get a badge!" Shinx shot back, his claws sparking.

"C'mon, this is a once in a lifetime experience!" Fennekin retorted, now positively flaming with anger.

"You don't even know that they'll be there!" Shinx replied, his claws glowing with energy. "For all we know, it could just be some crazy people trying to lure trainers into a trap so they can mug them or something!"

"That's it!" Fennekin shouted leaping at Shinx and scratching at his fur furiously.

Shinx retorted by shocking Fennekin, who leaped away, stung.

Flame took the opportunity to dive at Fennekin, tackling her and standing up with her fighting furiously to get free of his arms. "What's the chance that two legendary Pokemon would just be hanging out in the middle of a town, anyways. They probably have their own dimensions, or something."

Fennekin snorted

Shock picked up Shinx, who growled and started charging up his electricity.

"That's enough you two," Flame warned.

"Now can we go fight Roark?' Shock asked.

"Oh, fine," Flame conceded. As the group continued to walk through the cave.

Shock saw a bright item glinting on the ground.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Looks like a TM," Flame replied. Even though he had mostly relied on Shock to do the research, he did know about how TMs worked. They were discs that could automatically teach moves to Pokemon. "I'm kind of surprised b our luck about finding random things on the ground."

"What is it?" Shinx asked.

Shock squinted at the lettering on the disc.

"It says… Brick Break!" he decided. He bent down and showed it to Shinx. "Can you learn this?"

"Since when has a Shinx been able to karate-chop?" Flame joked.

"Since forever!" Shock argued, although he pocketed the disc.

Suddenly, many shadowy winged creatures swooped in front of them. Flame gasped as he recognized the shaped of many Zubat, all looking quite angry, despite their lack of eyes. He hadn't noticed them hanging from the ceiling until the last moment.

Flame released Fennekin, and Shinx dropped lightly onto his feet.

The two Pokémon bared their teeth at the Zubat that were flapping around in front of them.

Shock whispered to Flame; "Use the Pokétranslator!"

 _Of course!_ He thought as the Zubat screeched at them. He reached up to his right ear, and pressed the button on the earpiece. Nothing changed.

"Umm, I think it only works on captured Pokémon!" Flame replied.

"Well, we get the gist," Fennekin said.

"We do?" Flame questioned.

"Yeah," Shinx chipped in, "It's kinda hard to understand, but basically, they're saying that we can't pass."

"You'd think that since this is part of a public Route that they would be used to people, but I guess we've got no choice," Shock commented.

"Okay, Fennekin, Scratch!" Flame ordered.

"Shinx! Bite!" added his yellow-haired friend.

The tiny fox launched herself at one of the Zubat, tackling it out of the air, and slamming it to the ground, raking her claws down its side. Shinx added to the fight by leaping at a Zubat, and clamping his jaws onto one of it's tails. The bat screeched in pain, and retaliated by slashing him with its wing.

"Wing Attack!" Shock grinned, "A flying type move won't do much to Shinx! Now, follow it up with a Spark!"

Recovering quickly, Shinx released a charge of electricity from his claws, hitting many of the Zubat, sending a few of them to the ground.

Fennekin had finished with the first Zubat, leaving it lying unconscious on the stone floor. However, a Zubat snuck up behind Fennekin and slapped its wings together, sending waves of air towards her.

"Fennekin! Watch out!" Flame cried, but it was too late.

She turned around, her eyes widening, and was hit directly by the waves. With a surprised yowl, she was lifted up, and slammed into the wall. She slid to the ground, but quickly got back up.

"You okay?" Flame asked.

"Fine!" Fennekin replied, flames starting to shoot out of her ears, practically glowing with anger.

"I can swap you out if you need!" He added.

"I said I'm fine!" She replied.

"Okay, Ember!" he shouted. He was glad that Fennekin hadn't wanted to be switched out. He didn't know how strong hi Shroomish was, but he did know that pitting a little grass type with no arms against a bunch of flying typed would not end well.

She opened her mouth, a fireball forming, and shot it at the flapping form of the Zubat, which was hit head-on, and dropped to the ground.

"Yeah!" Flame shouted, pumping his fist in the air, "I knew you could do it!"

Fennekin shot triumphant sparks into the air.

Flame looked over to see the last Zubat being zapped out of the air by Shinx's Spark.

Shock gazed around at the unconscious Zubat laying around them. "I think we did it!" He celebrated.

Fennekin glowed with sparks, which faded away. "I think I learned a new move!" She noted.

Flame whipped out his Pokédex. "She has learned Flame Charge," it said in a robotic voice, "Fire-type physical attack. 50 damage, 100% accuracy. Each time the move is used, the user's speed is increased."

"Awesome! Can't wait to try it out!" Flame replied.

Shinx glowed, and Shock repeated the process.

"Thunder fang: Electric-type physical attack. 65 damage, 95% accuracy." The Pokédex noted.

"Hah! Mine does more damage!" Shinx told Fennekin triumphantly.

"Well, mine's more accurate, and I get faster!" she shot back.

"Are you seriously going to start arguing about who has the better move?" Flame complained.

"Yes!" they replied in unison, before looking at each other, "Hey!"

Shock rolled his eyes. "C'mon guys!"

After a few minutes, the group saw sunlight streaming through the exit

Flame bent down to let Fennekin onto his shoulder, and the pair stepped out into the sunlight. He surveyed the town. There was a golden-roofed building, presumably the gym, a big building in the corner, and a Pokémon center, among other buildings.

"Guys, It's so cool here!" Flame shouted to his companions; "Shroomish, come see!"

The Pokémon sprang from his Pokéball and gazed around.

"Can I be nicknamed?" Was his reaction.

"Umm, sure I guess?" Flame responded, taken off guard. It was the first time he had seen his Pokemon since he had Fennekin flip him over, and then threw a ball at his backside, but the Pokemon didn't sound angry, just grumpy.

"Shroomish is a horrible name," He continued.

"Umm, I'll call you Shroom then," Flame decided, having no time to thoroughly go through his options. "That okay?"

"Shroom, Shroom, Shroom…" The Pokémon repeated, testing out the name. "I like it!"

"Now, Let's get you to the Pokémon center," Shock said to Shinx, carrying the Pokémon out of the tunnel. As he walked, Shock looked back. "By the way, that is the least original name I have ever heard."

"You make a better one, then!" Flame challenged.

"Jeffery."

"No way!"

"I can't wait to take on Roark!" Fennekin exclaimed, bounding around his feet. "I wonder what Pokémon he has… Well, they won't stand a chance against me!"

Flame glanced uncomfortably at Shock, not sure about ruining her fun, and then pushed on. "Fennekin, you won't be starting for me today."

"Why not?" She asked. "I'm strong enough!"

Shroom snorted. "Ever heard of type weaknesses?" he asked. "All of their attacks will do twice as much damage to you! I'm a grass-type. I'm super effective against them." he boasted.

"So you don't trust me?" She retorted hotly.

"Fennekin, you'll always be my number one Pokémon, and if Shroom is knocked out, it will be up to you. But I need to start Shroom, because he's strong against them!" Flame finished.

All anger forgotten, Fennekin bounded towards the Pokémon center. "Can we go in?"

"Ugh, more walking?" Shock complained, glancing at the stony ground.

"Yup!" replied Shinx cheerfully from his arms.

Soon the city came into view. It was surrounded by stone walls, and filled with tall buildings. In the distance, Flame could see the red roof of the Pokemon Center. Minecarts were rolling in and out of large caves that looked to be mines.

"We made it!" Flame yelled triumphantly.

"Made it where?" Shroom grumbled, having only been Flame's Pokemon for a few minutes.

"Oreburgh City," Shock chimed in. "We're going to battle the Gym Leader here!"

Shroom made no response, and Flame was sure he hadn't even heard. Flame pulled out Shrooms Pokeball and retracted the small Pokemon into it.

There was a small, ornate gate that marked the entrance to the city. They walked through it, and made their way over to the Pokemon Center.

As they walked through the streets, Flame looked around. There were rock Pokemon all around them, shops that looked to sell rocks as well. Most houses were constructed of stone, as well.

"I guess they found a theme here, and they went with it, huh," Shinx said, staring around at all the Pokemon.

A group of Roggenrola was following a Boldore, which was following a Gigalith across the street. A Graveler was eating some rocks next to it's trainer. Flame wondered if that counted as cannibalism.

They walked into the Pokémon center, and gazed around. There was a main desk, behind which a healer was placed, benches on the sides, a changing room in one corner, and a restaurant in the other.

"Let's get these two healed up, why don't we?" Shock suggested.

"Sounds good," Flame replied. Both of their Pokemon looked like they were very tired, and hadn't fully recovered from the battle with the swarm of Zubat.

They brought Shinx and Fennekin up to the counter, where an older looking nurse was standing. "How can I help you?" she asked them.

"Hello, we were wondering if you could heal our Pokemon?" Flame asked the nurse politely.

"Of course!" she exclaimed. She took Shinx and Fennekin through a set of double doors, and came back out a few minutes later with the two of them looking happy and ready to battle again. Shock handed over the small fee, as he had agreed to pay this time, and they started towards the restaurant. It looked like a fried Fletchling kind of place, probably originating from somewhere in Kalos.

Flame had forgotten how hungry he was. "I gotta change, but after, let's eat!"

"I can get behind that idea," Fennekin agreed. Flame almost thought he could hear his Pokemon's stomach rumbling.

He stepped out of the changing room, and surveyed himself. He had changed into a red t-shirt with a flame design on it, a black hat, also with the flame logo on it, and comfortable navy blue sweatpants. He had kept the fire-red running shoes though. They were a must.

He walked over to where Shock was sitting by the counter, their two companions beside him. "How much did it cost to design that logo?" the blonde-haired boy asked Flame.

"Too much," Fennekin answered for her trainer. Flame just nodded.

"Okay Shroom, come on out!" the Pokémon landed on the counter.

"Your food is ready now," a voice came from behind the counter.

Surprised, Flame looked at Shock.

"I ordered while you changed," he explained.

"Well, let's dig in!" Fennekin exclaimed, taking a bite out of her Kalos Fried Fletchling.

"Aw, yeah!" Shinx yowled, burying his face in his favorite, a spicy Camerupt Burger.

Later, when they had checked out a room in the motel, Flame lay awake. Shock and Shinx had a bed, but he and Fennekin were in a sleeping bag on the floor, as Shroom had insisted on a bed to himself.

"Y'know what?" he whispered to Fennekin.

She blinked sleepily back.

"We should just keep Shroom in his pokeball from now on. I don't want to sleep on the floor again." he replied.

"Sounds good," Fennekin agreed. The Pokemon climbed slowly to her feet. "Although if we're sleeping in the wild, I don't think we'll have much of a choice."

"True," Flame heard from up on one of the beds. Shock jumped down, somehow already full of energy and looking ready to run a marathon. Flame would be surprised if he had ever slept for than four hours in his life.

Flame slid out of his sleeping bag and rolled it up, then stuffed it in his backpack. He picked up Shroom from his bed and placed him down on the floor. The Pokemon was already awake, and had presumably just been sitting there looking grumpy for the past eight hours.

"Alright, well I think we'd better get going. I want to go check out the Gym!" Flame told them.

"And wreck it?" Shinx asked, sitting next to Shock. Flame hadn't noticed him get up.

"Well, not necessarily," Flame said. "I might want to do some more training first."

"That makes sense," Shock agreed. "We could even train against each other!"

"Yeah!" Shinx chirped.

Flame pinpointed the position of the Gym on the map of Oreburgh he had grabbed back at the Pokemon Center. "Here it is."

They ate a quick breakfast that they bought from a vending machine in the motel's lobby, and started making their way through the crowded streets towards Roark's Rock Type Pokemon Gym.

Flame smiled. Soon he would test his strength against the most elite trainer in the city.

 **(A/N) Sorry about that fried Fletchling/Camerupt burger part, but it had to be done. Plus, people eat chickens and cows, right? It only makes sense. I just hope we don't get attacked by PETA and its deadly army of zombie vegans or something. Anyways, hope you enjoyed that long chapter, *cough* Eaglestorm's fault, *cough*. Don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Shock

Shock, Flame, Shinx, and Fennekin bounded through the streets of Oreburgh City, dodging people and Pokemon on their way to the Gym. Flame occasionally glanced at the map and shouted directions to the group.

The sun was just rising over the roof tops , indicating that it was pretty early in the day. Both Shock and Flame had left their watches at the room in the Pokemon Center, each assuming that the other had been the one to bring some sort of time-telling device. Shock wondered why Professor Maple didn't just install a clock on the Pokedex, as well as features like "Find my Pokedex," "Pokegram," or "Pokechat." He was kind of glad the last one didn't exist, however, because teenage girls would probably overuse the Rockruff filter.

At one point Shock thought he knocked over the ladder of someone painting the side of a building, which he regretted due to the horrible lack of color in this town. Either way, he rushed away into the crowded streets before he could be noticed.

Eventually, the group reached the Oreburgh Gym. It was a large, brown colored building with a giant Pokeball symbol on the front above a set of double doors. There were windows in random places all over it, and Shock could see the flashes of a battle happening inside.

"Looks like someone's having a fight in there!" Shinx said while craning his little neck to see in the window.

"Yeah," Shock patted his Pokemon's head. "But we aren't here to battle, we're just going to scope it out.

"And you'd get destroyed at this point, anyways!" Fennekin taunted.

"Like you'd do better!" Shinx retorted. He began to leap towards the fox Pokemon, but Shock lifted him off the ground by his scruff before he could attack. Shinx's legs flailed wildly in the air as if he was already fighting. Shock stifled a grunt of laughter.

"We don't have time for this, come on," Flame growled at them, pulling open one of the doors and stepping inside, followed by Fennekin, who trotted happily after her trainer.

Shock shook his head and followed, dragging Shinx with him.

The inside of the gym was breathtaking. A massive rock wall lead up to what looked like a platform, although Shock couldn't tell from his vantagepoint. The inside walls were covered in jagged stones, making the entire building feel like a cave. The main light source was a large, hanging from the ceiling, but there were Solrock hovering around, lighting up the darker areas.

"Woah!" Shock saw Flame shiver when they were blasted by wind from above, presumably from a Pokemon battle going on at the top of the rock-wall.

"I am so ready to battle in here!" Shinx squealed. The Pokemon struggled out of Shock's grip and dashed to the base of the wall, staring towards the top.

Flame gestured to a small opening in the wall on the left that looked like it led into a hallway. A large sign above it read "VIEWING ROOM" in large, blocky letters. "I guess we should head in there to check out the battle."

"Yeah, let's go!" Fennekin exclaimed, bounding over to the opening and leaping through, not waiting for the others. Shinx ran after her, not willing to lose the non-existent race.

Shock and Flame followed more slowly. The hallway was narrow and dark, causing Shock to thank himself for not being claustrophobic. After a few seconds of walking, light started filtering into the tunnel, and they came out the other side into a small viewing area. It was a round room, with the walls made entirely of glass, which Shock hoped was thick enough to stop powerful Pokemon attacks. A few chairs were scattered around the room, and a large leather couch sat in the middle. Flame and Shock both plopped down on the couch with their Pokemon, who were panting from running so much.

"This is a nice place," Shock stated. He noticed the his friend hadn't heard him, and was instead staring, with his mouth open, through the glass.

Shock looked up to see what Flame was looking at, and saw only an explosion as a Tangela was sent flying into the glass. It bounced off and regained its footing, staring into the cloud of dust that had been sent up in the attack. _What a battle!_

All of a sudden, the dust was blown away as if from a shockwave, revealing a Cranidos with its massive head smoking after the powerful blow. A trainer, probably of the Tangela, was looking at his Pokemon with a look of surprise on his face, which then turned into determination and gave a command to his Pokemon.

The Tangela sent out two of its vines towards the Cranidos, which dodged past both and dashed towards it.

 _Where is the Gym Leader?_ Shock searched the area, a large arena with a flat, metal floor and with a stone roof and walls like the rest of the Gym. A referee stood to one side of the arena, in a black and white uniform, holding a flag.

Then Shock spotted him, standing confidently in a small balcony on the opposite wall to them. It was Roark. He wore an outfit that resembled the one that the coal miners of Oreburgh wore. Shock had heard that Roark also participated in mining, so it made sense. _He could have at least changed for the battle, though._

He was also wearing a classic mining helmet, flashlight on the front and all. Red hair fell to just above his shoulders.

"There he is! The Gym Leader!" Shinx exclaimed, gazing through the glass in awe. Fennekin was sitting with her face pressed up against the clear wall, trying to get as close as possible.

The Tangela was dodging, trying to avoid the Cranidos' furious attacks, but it was clipped on the side, sending it spinning into the hard stone wall. When the dust cleared, the Pokemon was unconscious, and the Cranidos let out a roar of triumph.

"There's no way we're ready for this," Flame worried, his eyes glued to the powerful Cranidos.

Looking desperate, the challenger withdrew the Tangela, and threw out another ball, this one looking to be a Great ball instead of a regular Pokeball. The ball opened, and a Leavanny was released, already in a fighting stance. The leaf-like Pokemon immediately sprang into action, launching itself at the Cranidos with astonishing speed. It made a few swipes at the Cranidos with its razor-sharp arms, but the Pokemon easily jumped clear of the attacks.

"A grass type like Leavanny will do well against rock-types!" Shock pointed out.

"But only if it can land a hit," Flame replied, still intently watching the fight.

"True," Shock agreed. "If we want any hope of fighting this guy, we're gonna need some serious speed."

The trainer commanded his Leavanny to do something, although the trainers watching the fight couldn't hear it due to the thick glass. The Pokemon reared back and shot multiple clumps of thick string from its mouth. The string flew through the air in clumps, covering a wide-spread area. Due to this, the Cranidos was hit multiple times by clumps of string, which wrapped around it, tangling it up.

 _That's String Shot!_ Shock thought, now fully sucked into the fight.

"Pfft," Shinx scoffed, "That did nothing!"

Fennekin cuffed Shinx roughly over the ear with one of her paws. "Of course it did, idiot! String Shot lowers the speed of the Pokemon it hits, so Leavanny will be able to hit Cranidos with its Leaf Blade now!"

"I knew that," Shinx protested, rubbing his ear with his front paw. "It's called constructive criticism! You should learn about it."

Fennekin replied with a snort of contempt.

Shock looked back to the fight. While the Cranidos struggled to untangle itself from the web of string that it was wrapped in, the Leavanny was darting in and delivering a swipe, then darting back out of range again before the Cranidos could dodge or retaliate. Despite the "sticky situation" that his Pokemon was in, Roark remained calm. Shock wondered if he had a plan.

"Look in the Cranidos' mouth!" Flame exclaimed.

That's when Shock noticed a sharp glint coming from the mouth of Roarks Pokemon. _A Razor Claw!_ A Razor Claw is an item that is normally used to increase the power of a Pokemon's attacks occasionally, but Roark seemed to have found another use for it.

The Cranidos used the Razor Claw to cut the string, releasing it from the web. It dodged the Leavannys next attack and countered with a powerful iron head, as commanded by Roark. The Leavanny was sent flying into a wall, where it hit the ground and did not get back up.

A referee standing inside a small glass box which Shock had not noticed raised a red flag, which he assumed meant that the challenger had lost the battle. The challenger withdrew his Pokemon and walked over to Roark, who had leaped down from his balcony, miraculously not breaking his legs. The two shook hands and the trainer walked off into an unseen exit tunnel. Roark then strode over to another tunnel, located just under the balcony he had been battling from.

"Does… does he live in the gym?" Shinx wondered aloud.

"Is that really the first question you have after that?" Fennekin yowled, smacking the small Pokemon with her paw."

"Grr, I don't have a witty retort for that, so I'm just going to attack you!" The two Pokemon leaped at each other, sparks and flames flying.

Shock looked towards where the rock-type gym leader had disappeared, thinking about how expensive it must have been to drill out the ridiculous amount of tunnels in the building. _Just, like, build some stairs,_ He thought, ignoring the showdown going down between his Pokemon and Flame's.

Speaking of his fiery-tempered rival, Flame was having a heck of a time trying to split up said fight, diving after them and trying to pick them up, often sailing into hard objects. "Who's idea was it to build everything in here out of rocks?!" Flame shouted, rubbing his head from ramming into a stone chair.

"Okay," Shock stated, ignoring Flame as well as the Pokemon he was trying to catch. "Clearly, we need to do some intense training in order to beat this guy. You saw what he did to that guy's Pokemon, and he had grass types which are super effective on Roark's stuff."

"That sounded almost intelligent until you said 'stuff'." Shinx commented, sitting on the ground calmly after just being locked in a struggle for life or death. He somehow had not sustained a single burn, despite Fennekin's many attempts to char him.

"Don't you have something better to do?" Shock asked the little Pokemon, irritated at his constant remarks.

"Nope, I've got nowhere to be," Shinx squeaked, somehow still sounding evil.

Flame, who was finishing up with wrestling Fennekin to the ground in an attempt to keep her from causing expensive property damage, walked over to Shock, dragging the fire-spitting fox behind him. "You're probably right," Flame agreed. "Let's head over to Route 203 just west of here and see if we can have some battles, or maybe even catch some Pokemon!" He hoisted his now calmed down Fennekin on to his shoulder, hoping she would stay there instead of attacking Shinx again.

"I could've destroyed that arrogant little furball if you didn't drag me away," Fennekin snorted.

Flame smiled. "Then I guess it's a good thing I did."

Fennekin snorted again.

"Sounds good to me!" Shock called, already running with Shinx back through the tunnel to the entrance.

It didn't take long before Shock could see light streaming in through the entrance to the tunnel. When he emerged, he was surprised to see through one of the windows on the ceiling that the sun was now high in the sky. _How long were we up there?_

After a moment Flame stepped out of the tunnel with Fennekin by his side. The little fiery-tempered fox Pokemon seemed to have calmed down enough to want to kill Shinx slightly less, but she still let out a growl, which was quickly returned by the electric Pokemon. Flame lifted Fennekin onto his shoulder, and winced as she dug in her tiny claws, which was made even more painful when they started to heat up.

"You ready?" Flame questioned, loosening her angry Pokemon's grip.

"Let's go!" Shock yowled, "To Route 203!"

Exiting the gym, the four began to make their way over to the western entrance of the city. The streets were somehow even more crowded than before, making a storm of "Watch it!" and "Look out!" often followed by "Are you serious?"

They made a quick stop at a small PokeMart to stock up on potions and Pokeballs, along with a few other useful items just in case they would need them.

Being a mining town, Oreburgh City has a surplus of big buff dudes, whom Shock and Flame did their best not to anger as they pushed their way through the mass to their destination.

"Are their any specific routes we need to take to get to the Route?!" Shock heard Flame shouting over the noise of people.

"Not that I know of," Shock replied, scanning the map he had in his hands.

"It's pretty much just a straight shot!" Shinx yelled back to Flame.

"You couldn't shoot a bolt of electricity straight if you tried!" Fennekin yowled.

"That's because electricity zigzags!" Shinx countered indignantly.

After around fifteen minutes of walking and avoiding homeless people, a large gate came into sight. "I'd say that's an entrance!" Shock decided aloud. The crowd had thinned greatly as they had neared the edge of the town, so they no longer needed to shout to be heard.

"That's no entrance," Flame said sarcastically. "It's just a really big McRufflets!"

"Ew, pink slime," Shinx stuck out his tongue.

"That was just a myth, they just use meat filled completely with strange medicines. Nobody really know what they do, though.," Fennekin told him.

"That's why I prefer Torchic-Fil-A." Shock chirped.

"I was kidding! That is definitely the entrance." Flame sighed, exasperated.

"I caught that. One hundred percent!" Shock protested.

The four gazed in awe at the unreasonably tall gate in front of them. It was ornate, covered in gold markings, and very shiny.

"I guess at some point they didn't really know what to do with the stuff they found mining," Fennekin said, hopping down from Flame's shoulder to get a better look. "That's certainly not a problem I'd hate to have."

"I wonder why the other entrance has no fancy schmancy gate," Shinx inquired.

"Who cares!" Shock exclaimed. "Let's go train!"

Shock scanned Route 203, looking for signs of stuff that he could beat up. It was incredibly lush and green, a welcome change from the grays and browns of Oreburgh city. There was a wide path, surrounded by tall grass and dense forests. Rocky ledges were scattered around, and Shock reminded himself not to forget about them and trip. A small pond lay near the edge of the forest, likely containing a surplus of Magikarp.

He could see other people walking through the route, many of them carrying Pokeballs and presumably looking for a battle.

"Let's try not to make eye contact with those guys, okay?" Shock asked Flame, who nodded.

Pokemon were all around. Kricketot were just visible, the tops of their heads sticking out of the tall grass. A group of Bidoof were crossing the path, making their way into the forest. They snarled menacingly at Starly who dove at them, attempting to drive them away. For a moment Shock thought he glimpsed an Abra deep within the trees, but it vanished as soon as he spotted it.

"I heard there are other Shinx here!" Fennekin told Shinx. "I'm going to bet that most of them are stronger than you!"

"Pfft! I'm the best Shinx around," Shinx countered.

Shock spotted a black and yellow tail bobbing just over the tall grass, telling him that Fennekin was right about there being other Shinx here. "I might just have to replace you," she commented jokingly.

"I'm irreplaceable! You'll never find another Shinx as annoying as me!"

"Well, you're not wrong," Flame agreed.

They began to make their way into the route, but stopped near a clump of ferns, likely to contain some Pokemon.

"Let's split up for now and see what we can find!" Shock suggested.

"And see who's stronger at the end," Flame added.

"Sure thing," Shock agreed. He looked forward to having his first battle with another trainer on this route. So far all he and Shinx had done was beat up a Floatzel almost impossibly, and fight a swarm of Zubat. Before he attempted to fight a trainer, though, he thought he would train against some wild Pokemon, and maybe even catch one.

Flame nodded and then dashed off after placing Fennekin back on his shoulder. Sparks were already flying out of her ears, showing that the fire Pokemon was ready for a fight.

 _We're ready too!_ Shock thought. He put his arm by the ground so his Pokemon could scamper up to his shoulder, and began sprinting in search of Pokemon to battle.

He first came across a Bidoof that was sniffing around a bush close to the border of trees in search of berries to eat. Shock had always felt a little bit bad for Bidoof, mostly because they seemed so helpless, but weren't quite cute enough that you would want to help them. _Those front teeth look nasty, though._

"Shinx, you ready?" Shock asked as his Pokemon leapt to the ground.

Shinx nodded, his claws already glowing with electricity.

"Then use Spark!"

The Shinx's claws began to glow even brighter, until the electricity became visible coursing all over him. He pushed off with his back paws and began to rush at the Bidoof, which was now aware of his presence. Shock could feel waves of energy coming from his Pokemon. _He's been itching for a battle ever since we watched Roark in the Gym!_

The Bidoof attempted to dodge out of the way, making a feeble leap to one side, but Shinx's speed was far too much for it. He hit the Bidoof head on, throwing it into the air with pure electric power.

The Bidoof seemed no stranger to being picked on, however, because it turned mid-air and returned Shinx's attack with a Tackle. Shinx slid back a few feet and nearly toppled over, but found his footing in time. He turned back to Shock, waiting for a command.

 _Shinx's moves… Spark, Bite, Thunder Fang, Growl…_ Shock couldn't figure out whether to lower the Bidoof's power with a Growl or just attack. _That Tackle didn't do too much to Shinx, so hopefully we won't need to Growl._

"Use Thunder Fang!"

Shinx's teeth became alight with electricity as he charged in for another attack. The Bidoof seemed to be preparing for a Super Fang, because it's own buck teeth began to glow, but Shinx managed to hit it first. He sank his teeth into the Pokemon's thick fur and swung his head back, sending it flying into the air. Shock could see that the Thunder Fang had scorched the Bidoof's side and burned away a bit of it's fur.

The Bidoof hit the ground with a thump, then climbed to its paws and scampered away into the undergrowth.

"We did it!" Shinx squealed, turning around to look happily at Shock.

Shock pumped his fist into the air. "Yeah!"

"I feel like I'm growing stronger, even though I'm not leveling up. It's like I'm gaining experience," Shinx commented, sitting down to lick one paw.

Shock lifted his Pokemon back to his shoulder. "Do you need me to use a potion on you?"

"No, I feel just fine. Those Bidoof really don't hit that hard." Shinx looked at Shock with a determined look in his eyes.

Shock patted Shinx's head, ruffling his blue fur. "Then let's keep training!"

 **(A/N) All these eating Pokemon jokes- I can smell PETA and their zombie vegans on their way! Oh god, they won't eat me but they'll eat my garden and my lawn! *Runs away***


End file.
